Gastropubs have often been accused of helping to kill off the classic British alehouse.

But a leading Cambridge academic is now saying that the rise of the gourmet pub has been “unfairly maligned”.

In her new book From Taverns To Gastropubs Professor Christel Lane, a Fellow of St John’s College, argues that while some pubs have switched to becoming food first, they have not distorted their image entirely, and have now become thriving centres of the community as a result.

The book explains why these establishments have become popular, and explores how they have impacted on our society and identity.

The Salisbury Arms, was also voted best pub in the country

Commenting on her findings, the professor said: “The character of the pub has always changed over the centuries and the gastropub is part of that."

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"Ultimately, much of the criticism of gastropubs seems to have less to do with what they actually offer, and more with the fact that people miss a past society which is no longer there.”

The Maypole has been voted the CAMRA Cambridge pub of the year (Image: Keith Jones)

Lane visited alehouses in locations such Balsham, Bourn, Hemingford Abbot’s and Little Wilbraham, and suggests that they are “among the most patriotic champions of classic British cooking, from pies and roasts, to bread and butter pudding.”

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Ms Lane also argues in the book that the ‘gastrification’ of pubs in the UK has made them more welcoming to wider sectors of society, particularly women, and has generally made pubs less threatening than they might once have been.

The professor suggests this reflects positive social change, as one owner put it to her: “The boozer and wife-beater is a dying breed.”

The Barley Mow, Cambridge (Image: Warren Gunn)

Nonetheless, the gastropub trend is not without its critics, as travel writer Adrian Gill famously said: “Food and pubs go together like frogs and lawnmowers, vampires and tanning salons, mittens and Braille.”

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Lane argues though that nobody has systematically analysed the social impact of gastropubs since they first appeared in the 1990s. “Their importance for some communities has been ignored and as a result they have been undervalued,” she said. “The rise of the gastropub does not just mean a culture has been lost; something has been gained.”

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The professor continues to argue, that rather than undermining the true character of the English pub, gastropubs are simply part of its evolution and adaptation in the context of a changing society with different expectations.

The professors key findings

Lane argues that “the disappearance of a British industrial working class” and social changes have caused traditional drinking pups to close.

The rise of gastropubs reflects the expansion of a middle class who value eating out.

That gastropubs are simply part of pubs evolution and adaptation in the context of a changing society with different expectations.

Gastro pubs are major centres for “Gastronationalism” that preserve both national and local culinary traditions, often in the form of so-called pub classics e.g Fish and Chip, Shepard’s pie, Sunday Lunch, etc.

Gender balance has dramatically improved in pubs that have become food first